Lethal Rabbit
by Watership's Nightwish Rat
Summary: Rabbit corpses have been found between the warrens of Watership Down and Efrafa. In order to solve the mysterious murders, Bigwig is paired with Fiver's son Threar, a risk-taking young-adult seer going through a personal tragedy. Can Threar set aside his inner demons to help solve the case, or will he put himself and Bigwig in harm's way? Watership Down & Lethal Weapon crossover.
1. Bigwig and Threar

**Author's Notes:**

**This is a crossover fanfic of the two Watership Down books and the Lethal Weapon films. In this fanfic, a couple Watership Down characters have to team up the way Riggs and Murtaugh had to—even going through some of the same stuff! I will be going out of character with a couple rabbits, but I'll try to keep them as true to their original personalities as possible. I'll also be adding some new characters—more villains, a couple random rabbits, and maybe a few allies—to help with the plot. (Keep in mind: the film adaptation of Watership Down is referenced, but this fanfic is about events based after the books (**_**not**_** the movie or the television series).)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Bigwig stood along the outskirts of his home, Watership Down, as he had every day for the past twenty months. As usual, he had to figure out where the weasel that intruded last week was headed. This was hard to do when he had something on his mind. His chief, Hazel, had just informed him that there was an investigation about some murdered rabbits between Watership Down and Efrafa. To help solve the issue, Bigwig would have to team up with another rabbit. Although the Owsla captain insisted that he should know right then who his partner would be, Hazel simply grinned and said: "It'll be more interesting if you're surprised, old friend."

"As long as it's not Fiver, I'll be happy," Bigwig stated flatly. Fiver was Hazel's younger brother and Watership Down's seer. Even though Fiver saved all of their lives on more than one occasion with his visions, he and Bigwig still had a lot of personality clashes.

Hazel grinned even bigger. "You know I wouldn't do that to you, Bigwig," he said slyly.

The Owsla Captain could not help but feel uneasy after seeing Hazel's grin. Something inside of his conscience nagged at him, telling him that Fiver indeed would be paired up with him. _Just five months until retirement_, he reminded himself. He snarled irritably before suddenly thinking: _Oh, for Frith's sake, who am I kidding? That's five months too long!_

A young rabbit's voice screamed in terror, disrupting Bigwig's thoughts. "Help! It's the weasel!" the rabbit squealed.

Bigwig dashed in the direction of the young one. He was rather peeved to see the rabbit giggling gleefully. "This is the fifth time that you fell for it!" the rabbit giggled.

The old officer cuffed the rabbit's ears angrily. "What have I told you about crying wolf, Thlayli?" he growled.

Thlayli looked at Bigwig in protest. "But Father, I'm not crying wolf—I'm crying weasel!"

"Then quit crying weasel and anything else elil!" Bigwig snapped

"What am I supposed to cry, then?" Thlayli asked curiously.

"You're supposed to cry to your mother when I'm done punishing you!"

"What's my punishment now?"

"No flayrah for a month."

"But Dad—" Thlayli groaned.

"No buts. Get back into the burrow, now!"

Thlayli scurried back into the burrow in which he, Thethuthinnang, and Bigwig resided. Bigwig looked up to the sky in despair. "By Frith, what's this world coming to?" he muttered. "We can't seem to find that weasel, I'm being paired with a new partner who's probably Fiver, and to top it all off I named my only kitten after myself and he ends up being a pain in my—"

"Bigwig, prepare yourself!" Captain Holly's voice called. "There's a weasel heading toward your post!"

"Dang, my post!" Bigwig snarled to himself. "So this is what happens when you focus on your lying kitten instead of your job." He shouted to the rabbits outside of the burrows: "Underground, everyone! Now!"

The rabbits looked at Bigwig quizzically before they finally figured out what was going on. They dashed into their burrows as quickly as they could just as the weasel was charging towards them. Bigwig tackled the weasel to the ground in rage. The elil kicked its attacker off of itself. "I'm fighting a long-ear!" he mocked. "This is gonna be just like going on a picnic that's right where you're standing!"

Bigwig glared at his adversary competitively. "Let's just see how it works out for ya!" he challenged.

The weasel lunged at Bigwig with his jaws agape. The old officer dodged to the side before returning the attack. The weasel jumped to the side, grabbed Bigwig by the scruff of his neck, and slammed him to the ground forcefully. It put all of its weight on top of Bigwig, effectively holding him down.

"I told you it would be like a picnic," it snarled. It opened its mouth in preparation for the killing strike. Bigwig stared helplessly up at the weasel, waiting to become weasel food.

A light brown, young-adult rabbit with black ears and forehead, a black and white tail and white paws darted out of the warren and charged at the weasel. "Not if I can help it, you long-bodied, puke-eating, hraka-smelling cat's toy!" he shouted tauntingly.

The predator had no time to react as the new rabbit wrestled it to the ground, causing it to release Bigwig. The two creatures scratched each other cruelly as they rolled around on the hilltop, leaving traces of blood in their wake. The rabbit finally bit down on the weasel's neck and pulled sharply until blood quickly poured out of the wound. Bigwig watched in shock as his rescuer released the dying weasel and limped towards him.

"Are you alright, sir?" he asked Bigwig concernedly.

"Watch your back!" Bigwig yelled urgently as the weasel was creeping up behind the young one.

The rabbit turned around with his right paw raised, swiping it across the weasel's face. The weasel fell to the ground limply, never to rise again.

"Frith of Inlé, Threar!" Bigwig shouted in shock. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Threar grinned at the officer. "Catholic school," he replied cheekily. "Where else?"

Bigwig shook his head despairingly. If there was a rabbit he despised more than he did Fiver, it was Fiver's son Threar: the rabbit with Fiver's visions, Hazel's composure and sense of leadership, Vilthuril's stubbornness that allowed her to survive in Efrafa, and a sense of humor none of the three possessed. Bigwig stared harshly into Threar's eyes. "Don't joke around with me," he snapped. "Didn't you hear me order everyone to get underground?"

The younger rabbit's grin turned into a frown. "Yes, I did," he admitted. "I listened at first, but then I saw you go down. I knew you would have died if I didn't do what I did."

"Well, don't expect me to thank you."

"I'm not expecting anything of you right now."

"Good, then get back inside and wash up. I've got your mess to clean up."

Threar stared at Bigwig quizzically. "Hey, _I_ made the mess. You shouldn't have to clean it up. Let _me_ do it, alright?"

The officer looked at Threar seriously. "Are you kidding me right now? For all I know, you'll end up eating it for lunch like how you killed it. How on Earth did you go from a respectful kitten to fierce buck so quickly?"

Bigwig was taken aback by Threar's blueish-gray eyes turning from solemness to anger. There was a tense moment of silence between the two bucks. "A lot has happened since then," Threar finally said in a rough voice. Even though he was built smaller than his father, he lifted the weasel's corpse onto his back and walked off like he was carrying nothing more than a feather.

The old buck watched in awe as the odd young rabbit take the weasel to the ditch below and throw it in forcefully. Heaving a long passive sigh, Bigwig went into the burrow. He was greeted by a large crowd of old "friends" and some very young rabbits.

"So Bigwig, how does it feel to be saved by a psychopathic rabbit?" a buck named Bluebell mocked.

"The toughest buck around being saved by the son of a seer, eh?" another buck by the name of Dandelion gloated. "Tell us all about it!"

The young rabbits, still unaware of how the bucks' behaviors were rude, chorused: "Yes, yes! Please tell us, Mister Bigwig!"

Bigwig shook his head in irritation. "Leave me be!" he snarled.

Hawkbit, a slow-witted gray rabbit grinned mockingly. "You can't ignore the pleas of the kittens, Captain!" he taunted.

"Leave him alone!" Threar shouted angrily as he walked in.

To Bigwig's shock and relief, everyone in the Honeycomb (the main gathering burrow) let him and Threar go by without any further questions or comments. They walked along in silence until Threar approached his own burrow. "See you later, Bigwig," he said respectfully.

"Yeah," Bigwig said curtly in his rough voice as he continued in his own direction, "see you tomorrow."

Threar downheartedly watched the old Captain of Owsla leave him. He sighed sadly before he limped into his burrow and washed himself clean of the weasel's and his own blood. He munched on a pellet for a few minutes before he glimpsed over at a depression in the soft, dry soil that was next to him. The young-adult rabbit shed a few tears of sorrow at the sight of it. _I miss you, Violet_, he thought.

Violet had been his mate for a few months. The couple were very happy and loved each other, but there came a day one month ago when their happiness came to an end. They had been eating out in the nearest field before a hawk swooped down and grabbed Violet. Threar managed to pounce onto the large bird's back and get it to release his mate, causing her to fall ten feet from the air. The hawk crashed into the ground, Threar having had disrupted its concentration on flying. The young buck ran to where his mate had landed as Violet breathed blood from her nose and mouth. She could not rise, for her legs were broken and she was too weak. Her eyes of soft brown met with his of blueish-gray before she went limp permanently. The only other rabbits to know about Threar's loss were his parents, his aunt Hyzenthlay and his uncle Hazel.

Threar blamed himself for the loss of Violet, for he knew it would happen if he and his mate went to the field that day, had let her talk him into going, and had caused her to fall to her death. Ever since then, he had grown further away from the members of his warren and was known to dive headfirst into danger once it was sighted, not caring whether or not he survived to tell the tale. He was now commonly known as the main psychopath of Watership Down.

_**~W~**_

Bigwig had come to a stop just outside of Hazel and Hyzenthlay's burrow. He had wanted to warn Hazel about Threar's actions several minutes ago, but he suddenly hesitated. Would he be helping Threar by telling the chief rabbit, or would Threar continue down his dark path at a faster speed?

Hyzenthlay caught sight of her old friend. "Please come in, Bigwig," she welcomed him.

The Owsla captain respectfully entered the burrow. "Is Hazel around?" he asked.

"I'm right here, Thlayli," Hazel answered. "What brought you here?"

"It's about Threar," Bigwig said dutifully. "He fought and killed a weasel today."

Hazel smiled grimly. "Wasn't the weasel going to kill you right then?"

"No. Well... alright, yes it was."

"Then he saved your life. Nothing wrong with a rabbit saving an Owsla officer, but I can see where else you're concerned: you fear that he is troubled and dangerous. That is what I fear as well, my friend. But I actually _know_ that he is these things and _why_."

Bigwig looked at his chief curiously. "Then, why is he acting like this?"

"I promised Threar that I wouldn't tell anyone unless I absolutely have to. If Threar feels that he can trust you to know, then he'll explain. If he is driven even closer to the edge without telling you, I'll tell you myself."

The rabbit with the excessive head fur shook his head doubtfully. "I'm sorry Hazel, but I doubt that will ever happen," he said apologetically. "I don't see him enough to be able to earn his trust."

Hazel looked into Bigwig's eyes seriously. "You soon will be, for I've decided to have him be your partner in that investigation I mentioned earlier."

Bigwig was shocked at Hazel's decison, but did not question his reasoning. "Alright, I'll do it. Tomorrow, then?"

"Tomorrow, yes."

"Alright." Bigwig marched out of the burrow, still trying to take in all of the events that occurred in the past hour. First his son Thlayli causing a raucous, then Threar's tussle with the elil, and now Hazel having him team up with the troubled young buck. _I'm getting too old for this hraka_, he groaned.

* * *

**That's it for Chapter 1. Please let me know what you think and I will get Chapter 2 up ASAP.**

**Lapine definitions:**

**Hraka: droppings (poop!)**

**Elil: enemies of rabbits**

**Thlayli: "Fur-head." Bigwig's name and his son's**

**Thethuthinnang: "Movement of Leaves" name of Bigwig's mate**

**Threar: a rowan tree or mountain ash, name of Fiver and Vilthuril's son**

**Inl****é****: the moon, moonrise; also carries idea of fear, darkness and death**

**Hyzenthlay: fur shining like dew**

**Flayrah: unusual good food to rabbits, like carrots and lettuce**

**Frith: the sun, which the rabbits personify as a god**

**Owsla: strongest rabbits of a warren**


	2. First Day on the Case

**Author's Notes:**

**Here's Ch. 2, everyone! Enjoy and let me know what you think!**

* * *

"You can't be serious, Hazel!" Threar exclaimed in surprise, although he knew very well that Hazel was. Threar had decided to visit Hazel-rah's burrow that morning to inform him of the previous day's events. He was, however, unaware that Hazel also had something to tell him.

Hazel looked sagely at his nephew. "I know it's hard to believe, young buck, but you need to trust me on this: the warren needs you now."

"It needs me to team up with Bigwig to solve murders?" he asked in confusion. "Who told you this?"

"Your father did. He knows a lot of things, you know."

"I _do_ know, I'm just surprised he hasn't told me before."

The chief rabbit grinned. "Well, at least he knows how to keep a secret about Owsla business." He became serious once more. "Just an important tip: try not to get on Bigwig's nerves. He's soft inside, but his exterior is almost always much more dominant."

Threar glared at Hazel icily. "Do you have any idea of how hard it is to _not _get on his nerves? He hates me to the bone every second of the day, even if I hadn't done anything wrong."

"He doesn't know you yet, that's all. Dismissed."

The young-adult rabbit knew better than to try arguing with Hazel, so he respectfully saluted him before turning around and walking out of the burrow. _Frith-rah, this can't be happening!_ he thought with rage.

_**~W~**_

Bigwig groaned irritably as he woke up. "I must be a hundred years old," he thought aloud.

His mate, Thethuninnang, heard his words. "Oh, don't be hysterical, Thlayli!" she teased him. "You're just a little bit younger than me."

"That's still really old, Mother," Thlayli, Jr. joked. "Hah hah!"

The Owsla captain dealt his offspring a playful shove. "Now don't be insulting your mother, young rip!" he said in mock severity.

Thlayli tackled his father to the ground playfully. Bigwig wrestled with his son a for a few minutes before finally saying, in his usual gruff voice, "Enough! Your hundred-year-old father has a stiff back and needs to go to work. Be good, alright son?"

"Sure, Dad," Thlayli said, giving him a military salute.

Bigwig returned the salute, kissed Thethuninnang good-bye and marched out of the burrow. Thlayli looked at his mother sadly. "He's _always_ on patrol," he groaned in a sad voice.

Thethuninnang nodded and hugged her son. "I know, Junior. But it's good that he takes his job seriously."

"I think he takes it _too_ seriously. He hardly ever has time to hang out with us and we never get to silflay with him." Thlayli left his family's burrow downheartedly and ventured outside. to eat and collect his thoughts.

The doe sighed sadly. _He's right, Bigwig,_ she thought. _You need to spend more time with us, Thlayli in particular. I fear that he will get into trouble very soon if you don't._

_**~W~**_

Upon stepping out of the warren, Bigwig noticed that Threar was sitting towards the northernmost edge of the hill, staring out into the distance. The old officer knew very well that although the young rabbit's body sat on the hill, his mind was miles away. Bigwig cautiously walked to where his new partner was sitting. He came to a stop right next to Threar and sat down beside him. "Beautiful day out, isn't it?" Bigwig said politely. Although the two rabbits had already gotten off on the wrong foot, he decided that their partnership would be at least a little more decent if they had a pleasant chat.

Except, the chat that started pleasant wound up getting awry very quickly.

"It is, but a storm is going to strike in a couple of hours," Threar said without turning his head to face Bigwig.

"How do you know about that?" Bigwig inquired. "There's not a cloud in the sky."

Threar smiled a little. "I'm Fiver's son, remember?" he said humorously.

Bigwig couldn't help but grin himself. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that." His smile faded immediately. "Listen, I'm sorry about my behavior yesterday."

"I'm sorry about mine, too," Threar said, his smile fading as well. "Seeing you incapacitated like that ticked me off, that's all."

"Seeing _you_ fight the weasel the way you did had ticked _me_ off," the Owsla captain said sternly.

"I know," Threar muttered, wishing that Bigwig would stop talking to him like he was still a tiny kitten.

Before Bigwig knew it, he started saying the wrong things. "For Frith's sake, Threar! You're still young and have many months ahead of you. You might make a living doing something you enjoy. And you might even settle down with a doe and have kittens together along the way!"

The young rabbit glared at the old buck through his icy eyes. "I highly doubt it," Threar growled. "Don't bring this up again, alright?"

Bigwig was, once again, surprised at Threar's behavior. It took him a couple of seconds to regain his composure. "Alright," he replied as levelly as he could. "How about we look into our case?"

Threar managed to calm himself down as well. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "Yeah, let's focus on the case. What do we do first?"

"We go to the scene of the crime first, of course," Bigwig said somewhat irritably as he stood up and trotted down the hill.

"Take it easy, fluff-head," Threar said in a fun yet serious voice, following his partner. "I'm still new to this sort of thing and will be for a while yet. Oh and by the way, your son is gonna be following us."

"Frith of Inlé," Bigwig muttered as he looked back up the hill. "Thlayli, go home and stay there!" he ordered.

Threar shook his head despairingly. "You know that's not gonna help us out any, right?" he told the Owsla captain.

"Shut up!" Bigwig shouted. "Alright? Just SHUT UP!"

The younger rabbit grinned mischievously. "That's not gonna help, either."

_**~W~**_

The two rabbits arrived to the crime scene in just a few hours and were immediately shocked at what they saw. Five dead rabbits' bodies were lined up to form a T. An old rabbit was sitting next to one of the dead, sobbing helplessly. Bigwig immediately recognized the grieving creature. "Groundsel!" he exclaimed."What are you doing here?"

Groundsel shook his head despairingly. "I live here, remember?" He looked at the corpse of a young doe. "Why _Grace_? This makes no sense!"

Threar inspected Grace's body thoughtfully. "Considering that you knew all of these poor rabbits, something about it makes it make all the sense in the world," he noted. "Perhaps an old enemy did this?"

Groundsel shook his head. "That's impossible, young buck. All of my enemies are either dead or are my friends now. But how did you know that I knew all of these rabbits?"

"Just a guess," the young seer informed the elder. "Maybe it's not an enemy of _yours_, but of _theirs_. Do you know if they had any quarrels with other creatures?"

"Not at all. These were five of the most peaceful rabbits here." Groundsel hugged Grace's dead body sadly. "Why did they kill my daughter?" he sobbed.

"We're trying to find that out," Bigwig told his old friend.

"Do you recall any tensions before this happened?" Threar asked suddenly.

"No, there were none. Except for-" Groundsel looked up suddenly in realization. "Except for one foung rabbit named Nettlethorn that recently tried to overthrow me to be the new chief of this warren," he whispered. "He keeps trying again and again, but he never succeeds."

Bigwig looked at Groundsel-rah with renewed curiosity. "Who is this rabbit you speak of?" he asked. "Did his attacks occur before or after the deaths started?"

"Shortly before," Groundsel replied, his eyes growing wider by the second. "Do you think that he's behind all of this?"

"Yes," the old captain stated flatly.

Threar shook his head. "I don't think he is," he said doubtfully. "Maybe just part of it, but not all of it. I think that a creature you once knew started this to send a message to all of us."

Groundsel looked at Threar with heightened curiosity, but then shook his own head. "All of the creatures I once knew are dead. Campion, Vervain, General Woundwort..." His voice trailed off in a depressed tone before sobbing once more.

Bigwig knew it would be a waste of time and breath to keep interrogating the upset rabbit. "We'll see you later, Chief Groundsel. Come on Threar, let's get going." He walked a few paces before he finally noticed that his partner was still rooted in place. "Threar?"

The young rabbit stared blankly at Groundsel as he mourned for his dead daughter. He felt a wave of pity for the old rabbit, knowing how it feels to lose a close loved one. "Violet," Threar murmured to himself. "Violet..." He clenched his jaws together tightly angrily, his claws digging into the dirt. His blueish-gray eyes were full of murderous rage. _I _will_ find this piece of hraka_, he thought vengefully. _I _will_ find him, and I _will_ kill him._ He turned around and joined Bigwig on the long trek back to Watership Down, still vowing to avenge the wrongful deaths of the rabbits.

Neither of the two rabbits knew that they had been spied on by the same rabbit Groundsel had just spoken of.

_**~W~**_

Nettlethorn slipped silently through a nearby tunnel. He was inside the blackened main burrow in a matter of seconds. He was uncomfortable by the abnormality of the darkness in the burrow, but he knew that he had to put up with it if he wanted to please his employer.

So he did.

A dark silhouette of a rabbit stepped towards Nettlethorn. "Did you catch the names of those two officers from the down?" the shadow asked the younger rabbit.

"Yes, sir," Nettlethorn replied. "One of them is an old one called Bigwig, but the other one seems to be new to the job."

"What's his name?" the silhouette snapped.

Nettlethorn slightly shuddered at the sinister voice of his employer. "Threar, sir."

Dark laughter echoed oppressively through the burrow. "Revenge will finally be mine!" the shadow exclaimed. "With Bigwig and Fiver's son helpless in my claws, Hazel-rah will step down from his duty as chief of Watership Down just to save their useless lives. Then the down will belong to me at last!"

"But sir, they aren't in our custody yet," Nettlethorn pointed out.

A paw struck the younger rabbit swiftly between the ears, causing him to squeak in pain. "There is no 'we,' no 'us,' and certainly no 'our!' There's only 'I,' 'me,' and 'my.' Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Nettlethorn squealed in a panicked voice.

The silhouette shook with evil laughter. "Good, good. Now you listen to me, Thornynettle: I _will _find a way to catch those two in the not-so distant future. Go back to the warren you will soon run. I will summon you when I need you once more."

Nettlethorn saluted the shadow. "Yes, sir." He scurried back out the way he came, ambitious about the promise that he would soon take over his home from Groundsel.

The dark rabbit watched his worker leave in silence. _Your time is coming to an end, Hazel_, he thought. _The last sound you and your followers will hear will be the laughter of your new ruler: Vervain-rah!_

* * *

**Dun-dun-DUUUUUN! That's right, Vervain is still alive-at least in **_**this**_** fanfic. "But he was killed by elil at the end of the first book!" Well, in future chapters, all will be revealed about Vervain's struggles between the time he was supposedly killed by elil and now. Please stay tuned if you'd like to find out, and please leave a review saying what you think about the story thus far!**

**Lapine Definition:  
**

**Silflay: to feed (eat) above ground.  
**


	3. The Homba Incident

**Author's Notes:**

**Here's Chapter 3! Enjoy!**

* * *

Bigwig and Threar stopped at a field halfway between Groundsel's warren and Watership Down to rest. "We know you're here, Thlayli," Bigwig called irritably over his shoulder to his son. "Come to where we can see you."

Thlayli came to a stop and sat right in front of the two older rabbits. "What's going on?" he asked curiously. "Why are you working with _him_? He's supposed to be insane, isn't he?"

Threar explained everything to Thlayli before Bigwig could chide the youngest rabbit for not minding his own business. "I was talking to _Dad_, actually," Thlayli said gruffly. "Besides, I doubt _you_ can answer my question about you being insane."

"Stop it, Thlayli!" Bigwig whispered in a warning tone.

Fiver's son hung his head low, his ears drooping sadly. "I don't know if I can answer it, either," he replied downheartedly.

"Which means I can't answer that question myself," Bigwig said gruffly. "You'd better head back home right now. A storm is about to break."

The young rabbit sighed dejectedly. "Fine, I'll leave you two out here by yourselves, then." He turned around and sped off towards the down.

Bigwig sat next to Threar in silence for a few moments. Threar looked up at his partner at last and broke the silence. "You'd better get going, Bigwig," he said quietly. "I'll catch up with you later."

"Not a chance, kid," Bigwig told him, shaking his head. "You haven't been telling me anything about why you're acting like this."

"Why should I?" Threar snapped.

"We're partners now," Bigwig calmly replied. "It'll help us get along with each other if we understand one another at least a little better."

Threar hesitated for a moment before he heaved a troubled sigh. "You're right. Here's what's going on-"

"Dad!" they heard Thlayli shout. "Help me!"

"He's bluffing this time," Threar informed Bigwig. "He's not in any real trouble right-"

"Get away from me!" Thlayli screamed fearfully. "Help! I'm not kidding, HELP!"

"-now," Threar finished. "Alright,_ now_ he is in serious trouble. Come on!" he shouted to Bigwig urgently.

Bigwig followed Threar as he dashed to where Thlayli was being surrounded by four foxes. Threar jumped up onto one of the foxes and bit down savagely on the back of the predator's neck. The fox yelped in pain before it started jumping up and down, trying to get the rabbit to release his painful hold. One of the other foxes came at Threar with its fangs bared. The dangerous rabbit jumped off of the first fox at the last minute, causing the fox trying to grab him to bite down on its companion's wounded neck. He was about to jump towards the other foxes when one of them pinned him down with a large paw. Bigwig grabbed his son by the scruff of his neck and darted through some thorny rose bushes.

"Stay right here, son," Bigwig whispered urgently. "I'll be back in a minute."

Thlayli nodded in acknowledgment before Bigwig charged back towards the foxes. "Good luck, Dad," he murmured.

The old Owsla captain jumped at the nearest fox, which was the one Threar had just injured. The fox snarled at him before knocking him back to the ground. Bigwig hit the ground with a painful thud before getting back up with a snarl of his own. The other foxes not dealing with Threar silently crept up behind him.

Knowing that his partner was in a great amount of danger, Threar bit and scratched relentlessly at the fox's paw, trying to get it to release him. After just a minute of fighting for freedom, the fox finally removed its injured paw painfully. Threar jumped back up to his feet as the three other foxes were closing in around Bigwig. He looked up at the fox that just released him. "If it's me you're after," he tempted, "then you'd better catch me!"

The fox snarled at Threar angrily before lunging at him. Threar took off like a speeding bullet towards the other foxes with his attacker hot on his heels. He darted between the feet of the two foxes behind Bigwig, causing his pursuer to crash into both of them. Only then did Bigwig notice the foxes behind him. The fox in front of him was about to pin him down when Threar jumped up with his teeth bared fiercely. The fox had no time to fight off the young rabbit before its throat was ripped open, causing it to bleed to death and fall in a lifeless heap.

The other foxes looked at Threar in surprise before scrambling to their feet and running away. Bigwig looked to his partner in surprise, but realized that Threar was following the foxes. "Threar!" he shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Get Thlayli and get out of here!" Threar shouted back over his shoulder. "Someone sent these foxes after us and I must find out who!"

"Not just yet! Get back here, now!"

Threar was about to argue with the old captain when he was suddenly tackled ruthlessly to the ground by a dark brown ball of fur. Threar struggled under the weight of his attacker, whom he quickly identified as a rabbit. The strange rabbit loomed his face directly in front of the seer's.

"I sent them, runt," he breathed wickedly. "Now surrender, otherwise I'll kill you right now."

"I don't think so," Threar growled. He dealt the rabbit a forceful blow to the stomach, launching him into some nearby rose bushes. He jumped back onto his feet as the rabbit came barreling after him again. Threar dodged to the side and held out a paw in front of the villain, ripping open some of the flesh on his chest with his claws. The seer wrestled the brown rabbit to the ground mercilessly. "Who's your boss?" Threar snarled.

"I _am_ the boss," the rabbit snarled back.

"I know you're not, Nettlethorn! Who's your boss?!"

Nettlethorn stared at Threar in surprise- _How'd he know my name?_- before he started panicking. "I don't know his name!" he screamed. "He keeps saying that he'll get his revenge on the rabbits of Watership Down for what happened to him over twenty months ago. He promised that I would take the duty of Chief Rabbit from Groundsel when he had the down!"

Threar started to quake violently at that moment. Nettlethorn seized this opportunity to kick Threar off of him and bolt. Bigwig knew it was useless to try to follow the treacherous rabbit, so he instead sat down next to Threar. The young rabbit finally came back to his senses after a few minutes of violent shaking. "What's the matter, kid?" Bigwig asked.

"A vision," Threar responded in a quiet, snarly voice. "The rabbit who's killing everyone is a former captain of General Woundwort's Owsla. I don't know his name, though."

Bigwig grinned a little bit. "You were wrong about Nettlethorn, you know," he jeered. "I've never seen you or your father be wrong about something before."

"I was only partly wrong," Threar told his ally in a tone that was more serious than defensive. "I knew that Nettlethorn wasn't the murderer and that he was only part of the plan, but he's in much deeper than I originally thought."

Thlayli ran to his father and Threar at that moment. "That was incredible, Threar!" he exclaimed. "It was as if El-ahrairah himself came to us and tricked and fought off those hombas!" He caught himself before Bigwig could glare in disapproval at him. "Threar," he said solemnly, "what I said earlier-I'm sorry. You saved my life. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Thlayli," Threar told him quietly. "Apology accepted."

"I, too, am sorry for things I said," Bigwig said guiltily. "You saved not only my son's life but my own. For those things I am thankful for."

Threar and Thlayli looked at Bigwig in surprise. "I'll bet that hurt to say," Threar said after a moment of silence.

"You may never know, kid," Bigwig said with a small smile. "Let's go home, shall we?"

"Yeah, alright."

"Can we silflay once we get there?" Thlayli asked excitedly.

Bigwig thought about it briefly before smiling big and nodding. "Sure, we haven't done _that _together in a while. Would you like to join us, Threar?"

"Well..." Threar noticed that Thlayli was looking at him pleadingly, knowing that he wanted the seer to say yes. "... yeah, I'll join you."

Thlayli jumped up and down in delight on the entire trek back to the down. There were moments where Bigwig turned to Threar and said: "You know, he might attract more elil for you to fight off."

Threar simply grinned. "Who knows?" he joked. "They might be good enough to eat, as well."

Bigwig laughed heartily at the reference to the previous day's weasel encounter. _At least we are both able to look back at it and laugh._

_**~W~**_

Nettlethorn trembled with fright when he was ordered to go back into Vervain's secret burrow. He knew that his employer would only send for him if he had done something the vile rabbit did not like. Now here he was before the former captain of General Woundwort's Owsla, praying to El-ahrairah that the odds would be in his favor.

"You should have brought back those two rabbits, Nethorntle," Vervain growled. "Now tell me something: how did those two slip away from you?"

"It was the runt, sir!" Nettlethorn squealed. "He killed a fox and knew who I was without me saying so! He even knew that I wasn't in charge of this whole operation!"

Vervain became concerned, but managed to hide it. "Who might this runt you speak of be?"

"Threar!"

The old villain thought over all of the information in silence. _By Frith, I've never heard of this happening before! How is it possible for a rabbit smaller than Fiver to kill one of the best hombas I've recruited?_ He looked at the nervous Nettlethorn at last and broke the silence. "Where's the homba's body now?"

"It lies between the field and Watership Down, sir," Nettlethorn said, his tone a little calmer. "But there's something else I forgot to tell you: Bigwig's son Thlayli was with them when we first attacked."

Vervain chuckled wickedly. "Well done, Nettlethorn," he congratulated the younger rabbit. "You just gave me a much better idea than the one I originally had."

Nettlethorn looked at his employer's silhouette curiously. "What's your plan now, sir?"

"What else? I'll take little Thlayli away and lure Bigwig here!"

"Not to doubt your intellect, sir, but how exactly will w—er—how will _you_ do that? I mean, Threar will no doubt take us both—I mean _you—_down in the process."

"I'll work something out tonight. You'd best be heading back to your warren now, future Chief."

Nettlethorn could not believe how easily he had gotten off. As he left Vervain's burrow, though, he could not help but wonder: _Just what _is_ this crazy old buck up to now, anyway?_

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**That's it for this chapter!**

**Since I am trying not to completely follow the **_**exact**_** events of Lethal Weapon, even **_**I**_** don't know what's going through Vervain's mind except that it's not good! Well, that and the fact that it'll be as original as I can possibly get with it.**

**Lapine Definition:  
**

**Homba: fox  
**

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**I will be having this story and _Sepia the Mouse: A Shadow of the Past_ on hold until I get more reviews for each.  
**


	4. Dinner with the Bigwigs

**Author's Notes:**

**Last we saw the two mismatched rabbit detectives, Bigwig and his son invited Threar to silflay with them that night. Meanwhile, Vervain had started hatching a plan to make Bigwig and Threar stop running once and for all. Let's take a look at how the rabbits' dinner went, shall we? (And no, I don't mean that their dinner probably decided to run away.)  
**

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Threar could not believe how many events happened that day. First he learned that he had to team up with Bigwig, then there were the bodies at the Watership Down-Efrafa warren, followed closely by the standoff with the hombas and Nettlethorn, and now, to top it off, he was heartily invited to silflay with the two Thlaylis. _My life seems to be turning for the better after all_, he observed. _I just hope that it stays that way._

"Can I have some flayrah tonight?" Thlayli asked his father.

Bigwig thought for a moment in silence. "Since we are having a guest with us for dinner," he said at last, "yes, you can have flayrah tonight. But tonight only!"

Thlayli started hopping up and down all over the hilltop. "Yippee!" he whooped.

"Do you mind not doing that, Thlayli?" Bigwig asked somewhat irritably. "You might attract elil when you act like that!"

"Sorry, Dad," Thlayli apologized solemnly. His mood quickly lightened up quite a bit. "How about I go get Mom and tell her about dinner?"

"There's a good buck," Bigwig said approvingly, nodding and grinning at his son.

The young seer could not help but smile as Thlayli ran into the burrow, yelling "Mother! Mother, come quick! El-ahrairah tricked Frith to bless us with a miracle!"

_It seems like a lifetime ago since I was like that_, Threar thought, _even though it was really only three months that passed._ He hardly noticed Thethuthinnang follow the energetic young buck out of the hole as his thoughts drifted to Violet, his lost mate. _I was only like that around you, my love. You were the only one who could make me feel like I can take on the world._

"Would you like some carrots, Threar?" Thethuthinnang asked Threar, bringing the seer out of his thoughts. She noticed that he had been fighting back tears. "Are you alright?"

Threar nodded, cursing at himself through his thoughts. "Yes, thank you."

"Would you like carrots?" the doe offered once more.

"Err, no, thank you," Threar said uncomfortably, trying hard to come up with a good excuse. "I'm- -uh- -trying to lose all of this weight. Slows a rabbit down, you know."

Bigwig chuckled. "Losing all of the weight that's on you would turn you into a stick," he said jokingly.

Thethuthinnang and Thlayli both shot Bigwig looks of disapproval. The old officer finally caught on to what was happening. "Excuse us a moment," he said to his wife and son. He led Threar behind the beech tree, out of earshot of their companions and the rabbits inside the burrow. "You were going to tell me something earlier, weren't you?" Bigwig quietly asked his partner.

"Yes," Threar replied.

"Is it the same thing that's disturbing you right now?"

"It is."

"Explain, then." Bigwig noticed that Threar was hesitant. "Don't worry, kid," he said reassuringly. "I won't tell any one else about it. You can trust me."

Threar sighed in defeat after another moment of silence before he explained to Bigwig the events of Violet's death. "That's why I've been acting the way I have," he continued. "It became worse when I saw Groundsel grieving over his daughter's death. I've seen that I've alarmed you with my behaviors, and for that I am truly sorry."

The old officer smiled reassuringly at the seer. "Apology accepted," he said gently. "I know losses can be tough, although I've hardly been through any."

"I just hope you won't have to go through any losses having to do with the ones you love most, Bigwig," Threar said solemnly.

"So do I, Threar." Another moment of silence passed before Bigwig nudged Threar playfully. "What do you say to a race back to dinner?" he challenged.

The young buck grinned competitively. "Bring it on- -old timer!" he joked.

Bigwig swatted at his friend in mock severity, but Threar dodged it and bolted away. "You'd better take that back, kitten!" he threatened, trying hard to stifle a laugh but failing miserably as he chased after Threar.

Threar reached the spot where Thethuthinnang and Thlayli were sitting. "I beat ya, Bigwig!" he said in accomplishment. His carefree mood deserted him suddenly at the sight of Bigwig charging in his direction with a smirk. "Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked nervously. "Uh, you're going to knock me over!"

"That's the whole idea!" young Thlayli laughed. "He always gets that look on his face when he's about to wrestle with someone!"

The Owsla officer then tackled the buck to the ground. Threar could not help but laugh himself as he and Bigwig rolled about on the grass for a few moments until Bigwig put his full weight on him. "Okay, let me up," Threar gasped breathlessly.

"Wuss," Thlayli giggled. "I can last until ni Frith tomorrow!"

"Yeah, right!" Threar said good-humouredly. "That's just a metaphor to say that you can last a lot longer than I can, isn't it?"

Thlayli rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yes, yes it is," he confessed.

Thethuthinnang looked at the three bucks. "Are we going to have dinner tonight or have it when we're _all_ old and gray?" she asked irritably.

Bigwig looked at his mate apologetically. "Sorry, Thuthi," he said sincerely. He started to nibble on the green grass, only to spit it back out in disgust. He looked at Threar suspiciously. "Did you just pee right here?"

Threar suppressed an embarrassed smile. "Well, you _did_ scare me half to death," he said honestly yet guiltily.

"Did you pass hraka as well?" Thlayli asked curiously.

"No, I don't think I did."

"Please, don't talk about pee and hraka while we're eating!" Thethuthinnang pleaded. "We all need our appetites about us, you know."

"I'm sorry," Threar apologized.

Both Thlaylis nodded and murmured in agreement before all four rabbits started to eat again, blissfully unaware that almost all of the other rabbits who lived at the Watership Down warren were watching them in amusement.

"Would you look at that!" Bluebell almost whooped. "Looks like Bigwig _does_ have something of a soft spot for Threar after all! Can't you see it, Hawkbit?"

Hawkbit leaned forward a little bit to get a better view of what was happening. "They're laughing about something," he stated. "What do you think, Dandelion?"

Being the greatest storyteller of Watership Down, Dandelion observed the scene before he started to relay the tale. "Thethuthinnang curled her lips in disgust at the mention of eating hraka and pee with grass before she wrestled her mate to the ground," he narrated. "'What have I told you about that sort of talk during silflay?' she nagged.

"'Oh come on, Thuthi,' Bigwig pleaded. 'You know I can't help it!'"

One of the young rabbits watching as well spoke up. "I know what'll happen now," she giggled.

"What might that be, Juniper?" Dandelion asked the kitten.

Juniper grinned even bigger as she said, "Just watch!"

Thethuthinnang tackled Bigwig to the ground with mock severity. "Don't tell me that the best senior Owsla officer can't control what he talks about!" the onlookers could hear her say.

Vilthuril and Fiver were also present. They smiled at the sight and sound of Threar rolling in the grass, laughing uproariously as he did. "It's good to see Threar so happy again, Fiver," Vilthuril whispered to her mate. "It's been such a long time since he last was."

"I agree with you, Vil," Fiver whispered back. "I feel that this is the start of a better time for him, but I also feel that he'll encounter more heartache before the time truly happens."

Hyzenthlay and Hazel entered the main burrow (also called the Honeycomb) at that moment. "I sense it too, Fiver," Hyzenthlay said sagely.

"What's all this now?" Hazel said harshly for everyone in the burrow to hear. "Get back to your burrows."

"But Hazel-rah," Hawkbit moaned.

"There'll be no arguing!" Hazel snapped. "The four rabbits out there will be wanting peace without being spied on. Off with you, now!"

All of the rabbits did as they were told, but Hazel allowed himself, Fiver, Hyzenthlay, and Vilthuril to stay. "What do you mean when you say 'more heartache?'" the chief rabbit asked his mate and Fiver.

"Only time will tell," Hyzenthlay replied.

Fiver nodded in agreement. "She's right, I'm afraid. Though I have a strange sensation that it'll have something to do with Bigwig's family- -and ours."

Hazel looked at his seer brother seriously, his ears bending forward expectantly. "Tell me about it, Fiver."

Fiver was about to speak when he seemed to sense something that upset him greatly. "It's happening right now," he breathed nervously.

Threar lifted his head suspiciously at that very moment. He sniffed the air cautiously, then his eyes seemed to blaze with fury. "Bigwig," he whispered urgently, "help me get your family underground."

Bigwig looked at his partner questioningly. "Wha- -?" he started to say.

"Don't ask me why, just do it! Help Thethuthinnang get there, and I'll help Thlayli. You lead the way."

The old Owsla officer nudged his mate seriously. "Come on," he whispered, "let's get back to the burrow."

Thethuthinnang was a sensible doe, and she knew that when Bigwig told her to do something, it meant that something outside of the warren was going to cause trouble, so she followed him. Thlayli, on the other hand, was much more problematic.

"Why go in?" he asked Threar loudly. "I don't see or smell any elil. Besides, we aren't done with dinner."

"Never mind that, let's go!" Threar whispered.

"It's too late for that, you over-aged kitten!"

Thlayli and Threar turned to see Nettlethorn standing behind them, a small group of strange rabbits forming a wall behind him.

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**Author's Notes:**

**Well, there's the lead into the next chapter for ya. Just a heads up, though, I might just write this story as a side project from now on. But that doesn't mean you have to panic about it! Please leave a review telling me what you think about this chapter and whether or not you're okay with my proposal to have this as a side project. It would be greatly appreciated!  
**


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